'Star Wars VII' gains two more actors, Smith discusses being a guest on set

A parkour expert and an American living in Glasgow are the latest pair to join the cast of "Star Wars VII," both graduating from a UK and US-wide open casting call, while a bit of insight into the production reality comes from "Clerks" director Kevin Smith, who was a guest on the set.

British actor Pip Anderson is described by the franchise's official website as "a skilled practitioner of parkour," having appeared in an ad spot for Sony smartphones.

He answered the call for an athletic, smart, handsome, and independent spirited young man who "doesn't have the strongest sense of himself."

Likewise, stage and screen actor Crystal Clarke pitched based on a character sketch outlining another independent, athletic part, this time for an orphan girl who is resourceful, hopeful, and "always a survivor, never a victim," noted /Film.

Clarke, a student at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, has already wrapped her appearance in fantasy tale "The Moon and the Sun," starring Pierce Brosnan, William Hurt and Fan Bingbing, which is set for a 2015 release; the American actress also has a part in next year's "Woman in Gold," the Simon Curtis film which has Ryan Reynolds, Helen Mirren and Katie Holmes among its cast.

Filming continues in London after a stint in Abu Dhabi was brought to completion in May, while the Star Wars website expects a two-week break in August to allow for schedule readjustments as Harrison Ford recovers from a leg injury.

Kevin Smith is one outsider who has been on set at the invitation of director J.J. Abrams, and spoke up about his experience at the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival, as carried by the NIFFF Livestream channel.

Just over half an hour into his hour-long masterclass, the "Clerks" and "Red State" writer-director spent ten minutes on time at the 'Star Wars' production.

"I saw uniforms, I saw artillery I haven't seen since I was a kid," he said. "I saw them shooting an actual sequence in a set that was real... and it looked like a shot right out of a 'Star Wars' movie."